Today's Throwback Thursday comes from a year ago, on my summer mission in "4th Journey." A student and I were prayer-walking around campus and hoping to get into some spiritual conversations. As we prayed and explored and took everything in, I noticed below my feet a heart shaped like a stone. My team and I had been in-country for about a week and I had finally settled into a routine. We knew where to buy groceries and how to put money on our metro cards and order food in a restaurant. We knew what Ataturk looked like and that there were cats everywhere and that the "burger" place down the street was hit or miss. In the midst of helping my team adjust well, I hadn't given much concern to my own heart. When I saw that stone my pulse quickened. I snapped a photo to remember the moment. I felt like I could express what I'd been feeling but couldn't put words to. I felt like my heart was like stone towards the people we were meeting, even my teammates at times. It would be a long six weeks if that continued. I wasn't there just to help lead the team, but to experience the culture and learn and grow and share my faith, along with leading. In Ezekiel 36, God tells the Israelites: I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. Every once in awhile I glance at that stone picture while scrolling through my phone's photo album. I remember how I felt, and what God taught me about being present in the moment and not so "type A" like I like to be. It's a reminder I need quite a bit, but luckily God's mercies are new every morning.
2 Comments
Steve
6/5/2015 12:11:33 am
thanks for the reminder, Amy!
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11/24/2019 06:13:23 pm
Having a nice rhythm can really contribute to the team's offense. Passing the balls at a high level can help improve the team's overall ability to score the basketball. I am not saying that you should rely on passing every single play, but it would be nice to add some to your playbook. I hope that you start to run plays through your point guard too. I believe that you can do it if you just try.
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Amy WellnerEncouraging others to intentionally live out their God-given identity. Archives
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